Press Release

Blue to You Van Moving to Northern Points of Jersey Shore

February 28, 2013

NEWARK – The residents of Monmouth County will soon be seeing more blue than just the Atlantic Ocean. The Blue to You van is expanding its Medicare outreach from Ocean County into the northern Jersey Shore region of the state.

Since hitting the streets in early 2012, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey’s Blue to You van with trained advisors on board spent the year meeting one-on-one with Ocean County residents dispensing Medicare information and assistance. The Blue to You staff met with more than 15,000 residents, maintained a continual presence in 20 communities, participated in approximately 270 community events and logged 13,000 miles.

This year, residents of Monmouth County seeking assistance or information related to Medicare will have an opportunity to receive personal attention from Horizon BCBSNJ, the state’s largest health insurance company.

“Health insurance can be intimidating and we are trying to make it less intimidating through personal assistance,” said Joseph Albano, Vice President of Consumer and Senior Markets, Horizon BCBSNJ. “The Blue to You staff is dedicated to helping Medicare eligible consumers make informed decisions and get the most out of their health insurance benefits.”

The Blue to You van is a multi-purpose vehicle equipped with touchscreen TVs, iPads, and other technology designed to link local residents directly to important Medicare benefit information as well as to community resources. In coming months, the Blue to You van and trained staff will travel to libraries, festivals, fairs, sporting events and other local venues across Ocean and Monmouth counties.

In 2012, the Blue to You van and staff:

Traveled to 268 community events throughout Ocean County

Conducted educational presentations in eight libraries and maintained a continual presence in 20 Ocean County communities

Interacted with an estimated 15,000 people at community events

Held a Blue to You Day at Pine Belt Arena in Toms River where 40 health and wellness vendors served 800 attendees

Provided assistance during Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts

During March, the van plans to travel to the following locations for public events in Ocean and Monmouth counties:

3/1/13 – Manchester Library – 9:00 am – 11:00 am

3/5/13 – Little Egg Library – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

3/12/13 – Keyport Senior Center – 11:30 am to 12:00 pm

3/14/13 – Jackson Library – 9:00 – 10:30 am

3/22/13 – Long Beach Island Library – 10:00 – 2:00 pm

3/25/13 – Lacey Library – 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

3/26/13 – YMCA of Toms River – 8:30 am – 10:30 am

For more information, or to find out when the Blue to You van will be near you, call 1-800-365-2223, prompt # 5.

About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New JerseyHorizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer, is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health services corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, serving more than 3.6 million members with headquarters in Newark and offices in Wall, Mt. Laurel, and West Trenton. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 37 independent, community-based and locally-operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for
nearly 105 million
members – one-in-three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA.